The June 4, 2020 Carrollton Town Council meeting began with Mayor Mickey Walker giving a COVID-19 update. “Since the last meeting, the Governor has slacked up on the guidelines, so we slacked up on the stores as long as they maintain six foot distance,” Walker said. “If that changes again with the Governor, we will change with it because we’ve already got that ordinance in effect.”

Walker mentioned that the city had received a Pickens County Medical Center water bill and received payment for $5,623.11 last month and the balance is $63,869.20.

BY BRIAN HAMILTON
Editor

After much deliberation, Pickens County Schools Aliceville, Gordo, and Pickens County finally set dates for graduation ceremonies and for the first time in recent memory, they will not all be on the same night.
“We threw out some parameters and we let the school make that decision because of everything that was going on,” Pickens County Superintendent Jamie Chapman said.

BY BRIAN HAMILTON
Editor

Aliceville resident Brandon Peoples, 28, was found shot and killed early on Sunday, May 31, 2020 at a mobile home on Jasper Road in Aliceville.
Police have a person of interest, but the investigation is still ongoing. No arrests have been made in the case as of Friday, June 5th.
Police stated that Peoples’ girlfriend owns the home where his body was discovered. Aliceville Police Chief said the shooting was being investigated as a homicide.

BY BRIAN HAMILTON
Editor

BY DOUG SANDERS, JR.
Correspondent

BY BRIAN HAMILTON
Editor

By Doug Sanders, Jr.

The members of the Pickens County Board of Education, meeting on May 13 six feet apart at the conference room at the County College and Career Center, received an update on what the Board will do to repair the sinkhole at the Libby Hankins Football Field at Gordo High School. The Board met April 29 by Zoom and decided some details for the repairs at that meeting, but Superintendent of Education Jamie Chapman gave the Board more details on what the Board will do and what the Town of Gordo, Gordo Athletic Booster Club and others will do.

On April 13, 2020, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) wrote a letter to Governor Kay Ivey, urging her to take swift action to protect Alabama’s vulnerable water customers who are facing extreme distress during the COVID-19 pandemic through a statewide moratorium.
The letter stated that water is a human right and a basic necessity and that access to safe, affordable water is critical to stop the spread of the virus through handwashing and other recommended hygiene practices.

The April 22, 2020 Aliceville City Council meeting was conducted through a conference call, as Mayor Marva Gipson mentioned at the prior meeting that it would be the last face-to-face meeting until the coronavirus subsides.
Mayor Gipson called the meeting to order with all council members present. Councilman Terrence Windham moved for the approval of the April 8, 2020 council meeting and the motion carried with all voting in favor of the approval of the minutes.

As the Pinnacle Renewable Energy Plant in Aliceville continues to operate per guidance from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) where “critical infrastructure workers” in food and agriculture were defined as “workers who support the manufacture of distribution of forest products, including, but not limited to timber, paper, and other wood products,” the plant made facial masks mandatory. Pinnacle General Manager Ritu Linhart said that she quickly realized after mandating workers to wear masks that the masks were nowhere to be found.